Jim Calhoun

George Blaney Associate head coach: 11th season at UConn. A 2003 inductee into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame. Graduated from Holy Cross in 1961 as an All-New England player. Fourth-round selection of the Knicks in 1961, and previously coach at Stonehill, Dartmouth, Holy Cross and Seton Hall. Overall 30-year coaching record is 459-382. When Calhoun misses a game, Blaney, 71, is in charge. Karl Hobbs Director of basketball administration: Rejoins UConn staff after 10 seasons as head coach at George Washington University.

Jim Calhoun will be joining ESPN's college basketball broadcast team. Calhoun, who retired as UConn coach in September 2012 after 26 seasons and three national championships, will do most of his work in Bristol, ESPN's home base, providing studio analysis, a network source, requesting anonymity, told The Courant. Calhoun, 72, will occasionally travel to games and contribute to "SportsCenter. " . The hiring was first reported by TheBigLead.com. Since retiring, Calhoun has worked at UConn in an advisory capacity, helping in fundraising and appearing at speaking engagements.

Every one of Jim Calhoun's 873 career wins had a least one memorable moment, even if it was forgotten just days later. Here are some, however, that will never be forgotten: March 29, 1999 — UConn 77, Duke 74 NCAA Tournament championship game St. Petersburg, Fla. UConn's first national title ended with Trajan Langdon, one of the most prolific three-point shooters in college basketball, unable to get off a shot and falling at the buzzer....

A few nuts and bolts as the Huskies complete their first week of classes.... The championship defense reached another check point on Sunday night, when players gathered on the eve of the first day of classes. This was always one of Jim Calhoun's favorite days of the year, a moment he felt the new season drawing close. This year, Ray Allen came and met with the new group of Huskies, giving them the pep talk to get things started. The first day the Huskies are allowed to practice is Oct. 3, but look for the Huskies to start a day or two after that.

Love him or hate him, agree with him or disagree with him, Jim Calhoun has rarely left the Connecticut media with nothing to write, rarely left UConn fans without comments to analyze, argue over, laugh at, shake their heads at, even repeat with pride. Put Calhoun on a podium and he can be loquacious, elegant, combative, sarcastic, analytical, insightful ... and a number of other things that, for 24 years, have made him one of the greatest quotes in all of sports. Here's our list of Calhoun's 10 memorable comments during his time as UConn coach.

It "may be the most delicate situation in men's basketball: the future of UConn coach Jim Calhoun," writes Ray Gustini of the Atlantic about "the man who built Connecticut into a basketball power over the past 25 years. " Jim Calhoun, nearing 70, has won three NCAA titles in 13 years. But he's missed a lot of games because of illness and his team has been banished from the 2013 NCAA tournament because of its poor record on graduation requirements. Is it time for the Hall of Fame coach to walk away?

George Blaney filled in for Jim Calhoun one more time, on the Big East's weekly conference call on Thursday. As Blaney spoke, the Huskies, who did not practice Wednesday, were about to board a bus to their practice site in Jersey where Jim Calhoun, his suspension over, took over practice again. "We know what his message is going to be," Blaney said, "it's going to be 'defend,' it's going to be 'run,' it's going to be 'compete' and it's going to be 'rebound.' Those things are the core of what we do. " We all know things can sound a little different coming from JC's lips - it's a volume thing.

In addition to basketball games, Jim Calhoun wants to win $100,000 for charity, and fans can help. Infiniti, the National Association of Basketball Coaches, the NCAA and ESPN are teaming up for Infiniti Coaches Charity Challenge. Some 48 of the top Division I basketball coaches will be going head-to-head in over an eight week period beginning Jan. 18. The winner will be announced on March 9. A total of $300,000 will be donated to the coaches' favorite charity, the winner getting the $100,000, determined by the on-line participation of fans.

In one sense it was mission accomplished. UConn rebounded better, with a 42-24 edge overall, 18-11 on offensive boards against Wagner. Now Jim Calhoun turned his attention to something more general. "We're just not invested fully into the whole process of playing 40 minutes of basketball," Calhoun said. "I don't think that everyone on our team is invested fully into playing defense. " Here's the slogan for the week. Calhoun now will be stressing this concept on Wednesday.

UNCASVILLE - Charlie Villanueva walked on the court 22 minutes before the start of the seventh Jim Calhoun Charity Classic, hugged Donyell Marshall, hugged Ben Gordon and immediately made a move to block a jumper by Taliek Brown. Villanueva dove in for a hug with the point guard of UConn's 2004 national champions. And when he released Brown, Villanueva found Rashad Anderson, the ebullient sharpshooter from the team that whipped Duke and Georgia Tech to win it all. No UConn fan needed two guesses what would happen next.

WATERBURY — Andre Drummond was shaken up, and he was not alone. He saw Paul George go down with a broken right leg, and it was frightening. "Seeing one of my good friends in the league go down," Drummond said. "I'm still trying to get over it. Knowing one of my friends is down. I know he's going to be OK, been talking to him every day. " George, 24, sustained the catastrophic fracture during a USA Basketball scrimmage Friday. He has since had surgery and now faces a long road of rehab.

From The Dream Season to the Hungry Huskies, more than three dozen players and coaches from various UConn men's basketball teams will gather at Mohegan Sun Arena Friday night for Jim Calhoun's Charity All-Star Classic. Some names listed on the tentative roster: Andre Drummond, Kemba Walker, Ray Allen, Rudy Gay, Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Shabazz Napier, DeAndre Daniels, Khalid El-Amin, Jeremy Lamb, Donny Marshall, Donyell Marshall, Rod Sellers and Lasan Kromah. From the Dream Season, the first UConn team to make a long NCAA Tournament run for Calhoun in 1990: Scott Burrell and Lyman DePriest.

From The Dream Season to the Hungry Huskies, more than three dozen players and coaches from various UConn men's basketball teams will gather at Mohegan Sun Arena Friday night for Jim Calhoun's Charity All-Star Classic. Some names listed on the tentative roster: Andre Drummond, Kemba Walker, Ray Allen, Rudy Gay, Rip Hamilton, Ben Gordon, Shabazz Napier, DeAndre Daniels, Khalid El-Amin, Jeremy Lamb, Donny Marshall, Donyell Marshall, Rod Sellers and Lasan Kromah. From the Dream Season, the first UConn team to make a long NCAA Tournament run for Calhoun in 1990: Scott Burrell and Lyman DePriest.

KILLINGWORTH - It hasn't always been easy for Stanley Robinson, but the smile remains. He is surrounded by kids. The thumping sound of the basketball fills his ears. And his dream is alive. "I've got to get healthy, stay healthy," Robinson said during a break at the Madison Hoop Dreams camp, where he is an instructor. "I've got to stay dedicated to the game, keep working hard. I can't compare myself to other players and ask why I'm not in the [NBA]. I've got to be me, and get better - get better and hope somebody sees me. " Robinson, who turns 26 next week, is rehabbing a torn right Achilles, the second Achilles injury he has had. He played last season for the Moncton Miracles of the National Basketball League of Canada, where he averaged 31.9 minutes, 13.9 points and 8.1 rebounds.

When Clifford Robinson was drafted in the second round in 1989, not many would have predicted he'd play 18 seasons in the NBA, including 14 seasons where he averaged double figures. That was the beginning of a steady flow to the NBA of players under Jim Calhoun. Donyell Marshall left school early in 1994 and was the No. 4 pick in that year's draft. Like Robinson, he had a lengthy career, playing 15 seasons in the NBA. Ray Allen was No. 5 in 1996, and he's still playing, having won two NBA titles in 18 seasons.

By DOM AMORE, damore@courant.com and The Hartford Courant, June 21, 2014

Shabazz Napier was playing in his 140th and 141st games for UConn, and there had been NBA scouts at nearly all of them. But there was still more to learn, and fresh eyes were now beginning to notice. One NBA executive was at Madison Square Garden for the East Regional final, seeing Napier for the first time and watching him lead the Huskies to victories over Iowa State and Michigan State and back to the Final Four. "I went back to our college scouts and I asked, 'Why aren't we talking more about this guy?"